Jul. 3, 2015

Jun. 19, 2015

Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent spokesman Usama Mahmoud posts pictures on Twitter that appear to show American aid worker Warren Weinstein before he was killed in American drone strike in Pakistan. MORE

May. 27, 2015

Yemeni man Saddiq Al-Abbadi pleads guilty in Federal District Court in Brooklyn to four counts related to his terrorism activities; charges, which stem from his fight against American forces as member of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2009, carry minimum sentence of 30 years and maximum of life. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Michiko Kakutani Critic's Notebook concludes Osama bin Laden was fixated on West and American imperialism judging by Al Qaeda leader's collection of books, periodicals and letters found in his Abbottabad, Pakistan, bunker, seized in 2011 Navy SEAL raid. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Documents seized in Navy SEALS raid on Osama bin Laden compound in Pakistan in 2011 reveal that Al Qaeda leader was considering relocating in months before SEALS stormed compound and killed him. MORE

May. 4, 2015

Asim Umar, leader of Al Qaeda branch in Indian subcontinent, is claiming responsibility for February 2015 killing of atheist Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy and several other intellectuals opposed to fundamentalist Islam in Bangladesh. MORE

May. 1, 2015

United States officials confirm that FBI advised family of Warren Weinstein, aid worker kidnapped by Al Qaeda, about paying ransom to militants two years before he was inadvertently killed in American drone strike; add that guidance offered did not conflict with US anti-ransom policy. MORE

Apr. 25, 2015

Counterterrorism officials say general success of American drone strikes over years in targeting and killing Al Qaeda's top leaders in Pakistan have significantly weakened the militant group; say Qaeda's leadership is now likely more focused on survival rather than plotting attacks on West. MORE

Apr. 25, 2015

Italian authorities arrest nine people in investigation of Al Qaeda-linked terrorist cell based in Sardinia; say group once planned attack on Vatican but did not follow through with it; nine additional suspects remain at large. MORE

Apr. 24, 2015

News Analysis; death of American aid worker Warren Weinstein in January drone strike highlights technology's unsettling imprecision, and raises hard questions about Pres Obama's reliance on their use; independent investigations reveal far higher rate of civilian casualties in drone offensives than government has disclosed; deaths have bolstered critics who say strikes involve unacceptable level of guesswork and unintended destruction. MORE

Apr. 24, 2015

Central Intelligence Agency first became aware of botched drone strike in Pakistan when six bodies were pulled from rubble rather than expected four; still, it took weeks before agency confirmed deaths of American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto in attack; so-called 'signature strikes,' which do not require identification of human targets and which were supposedly suspended by Pres Obama in 2014, have been criticized for their high civilian death toll. MORE

Apr. 24, 2015

Officials disclose that January drone strike in Pakistan claimed lives of American aid worker Warren Weinstein and Italian man Giovanni Lo Porto, who were both held hostage by Al Qaeda; Pres Obama issues rare personal apology for deaths in attack meant to wipe out Al Qaeda compound; grave error came despite months of surveillance and marks a searing moment in controversy surrounding drone war and targeted killings. MORE

Apr. 24, 2015

Pres Obama announces that California native Adam Gadahn, al Qaeda translator and spokesman, and another American-born Qaeda leader, Ahmed Farouq, were killed in January in separate strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. MORE

Apr. 24, 2015

Family of Warren Weinstein grieves over his death in American counterterrorism operation against Al Qaeda, which had held him hostage since 2011; remember him as compassionate aid worker who worked tirelessly to improve living conditions of Pakistani people. MORE

Apr. 24, 2015

Friends and colleagues recall life of Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto, who was killed along with American hostage Warren Weinstein during United States counterterrorism strike at Al Qaeda compound in Pakistan in January. MORE

Apr. 13, 2015

Arraignment of Texas-born suspected Al Qaeda operative Mohanad Mahmoud Al Farekh on terrorism charges follows prolonged manhunt and intense debate over whether he should have been targeted by drone strike in Pakistan; Farekh would have become second American citizen targeted overseas without trial; case bolsters argument that capturing militant suspects is both more feasible and more valuable than killing them. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Mohanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, Texas-born man who flew to Pakistan to join Al Qaeda, is returned to United States and arraigned in Brooklyn on charges of providing material aid to terrorists. MORE

Mar. 23, 2015

Evacuation of 125 United States Special Operations advisers from Yemen strikes yet another blow to counterterrorism campaign in the Middle East; evacuation has compromised Yemen as site for training, advising and intelligence gathering, even as Al Qaeda's local affiliate continues to pose major threat; Central Intelligence Agency will maintain some covert agents in country. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Large contribution to $5 million ransom paid by Afghan officials to Al Qaeda in 2010 illustrates how Central Intelligence Agency and other United States organizations have inadvertently financed enemy militants; US officially refuses to pay ransoms, but some of the hundreds of billions it has spent over last decade of war has been siphoned off to enemy fighters, reflecting problems with poor oversight and loose financial controls. MORE

Mar. 5, 2015

Pakistani man Abid Naseer is convicted in Brooklyn Federal Court on charges of supporting terrorism and conspiring with Al Qaeda to bomb shopping center in Manchester, England; conviction of Naseer, who represented himself at trial, contributes to growing awareness of middle-class, Western-educated men who become terrorists. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

Jurors hear closing arguments at New York terrorism trial of Abid Naseer, Al Qaeda operative accused of planning attacks in London, New York and Denmark. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Terrorism suspect Abid Naseer presents arguments in his own defense during trial in Brooklyn courtroom, appearing competent and organized for most of two day period before his arguments begin to unravel; prosecution argues that email of alleged friend is that of Al Qaeda operative and that women's names used in correspondence are code in bombing plot. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Khalid al-Fawwaz, Saudi man accused of close association with Osama bin Laden, is convicted of involvement in plot to kill Americans worldwide and of helping plan 1998 bombings of United States Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya; verdict is likely to support Obama administration's assertion that terrorism cases can be tried in American courts. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Five officers from British intelligence agency MI5 testify at trial of accused Al Qaeda operative Abid Naseer in Brooklyn while wearing disguises; recount surveillance of defendant conducted in Manchester, England; evidence does not appear to be damning. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Abid Naseer, accused terrorist who is representing himself in federal trail, cross-examines government witness Najibullah Zazi, who has admitted to working with Al Qaeda; seeks to undermine government assertion that Naseer and Zazi are close acquaintances who plotted together in failed coordinated attacks in London, New York and Denmark. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

Trial of accused Al Qaeda operative Abid Naseer begins in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, despite unresolved logistical problems having to do with his choice to represent himself; Judge Raymond J Dearie, weighing security concerns against Naseer's legal rights, must decide how defendant will be able to review evidence and witness testimony from inside jail. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Lawmakers and relatives of 9/11 victims, bolstered by convicted Al Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui's claims that he met with Saudi government officials before 2001 attacks, are resuming calls to declassify 28 pages of 2002 congressional investigation; believe that pages will reveal that Saudi Arabia financed attacks, and could also help determine who is currently funding terrorist activities. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Prison deposition by former Al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui contends that prominent Saudi Arabian figures were involved in financing terrorist group in years leading up to September 11, 2001, attacks; accusation, which Saudi Arabia's government has denied, draws attention to some experts' belief that Saudi involvement in 9/11 attacks should be examined. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Former Al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui, providing testimony from federal supermax prison in Colorado, says prominent members of Saudi Arabia's royal family were major supporters of and donors to terrorist group in late 1990s; says he talked to Saudi Embassy staffer about plan to shoot down Air Force One with Stinger missile. MORE

Jan. 31, 2015

Federal Judge Lewis A Kaplan, presiding over Manhattan trial of Khalid al-Fawwaz for his role in 1998 Al Qaeda bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, rejects defense lawyers' request to bar testimony from government witnesses. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Trial of alleged former Al Qaeda operative Khalid al-Fawwaz begins in Manhattan; Fawwaz is accused of helping plan deadly bombings of United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1998. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Yemeni men Saddiq Al-Abbadi and Ali Alvi are arrested in Saudi Arabia and extadited to United states to face charges by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn; are charged with providing material support to Al Qaeda and conspiring to murder United States nationals abroad for activities in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2008. MORE

Jan. 5, 2015

Yemeni officials say Al Qaeda bombed an office of Shiite Houthi rebels south of capital Sana, killing six Houthis and wounding 31. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Suspected Al Qaeda leader Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai dies in government custody from liver cancer just days before his trial in New York on charges related to 1998 bombings of two American Embassies in East Africa. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

United States Atty Preet Bharara recommends that Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr approve subpoena for CBS reporter Richard Bonin to testify at terrorism trial over bombings by Al Qaeda in 1998; Holder already faces deadline over whether to force New York Times reporter James Risen to testify in leak trial of former Central Intelligence Agency officer. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Al Qaeda comes out publicly against practice of beheading in strongly worded interview with Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi, one of group's field commanders; statement makes it clear that organization is more pragmatic and less extreme than Islamic State. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

Editorial expresses alarm at Pres Obama's turnabout on Afghanistan and other developments that seem to be sucking United States back into Afghan war; urges Obama to stick to original plan to have remaining troops focus on training and advising Afghan army and going after Al Qaeda. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

Raid conducted by United States Special Operations commandos and Yemeni troops rescues eight people held hostage by Al Qaeda affiliate in remote part of eastern Yemen, but American journalist who was primary target of risky operation was not among the rescued. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

Vice Pres Joseph R Biden Jr is trying to ocnnect with Saudi leaders to apologize for and clarify comment he made suggesting that Saudi Arabia backed Al Qaeda or other extremist groups in Syria; Biden has apologized to officials from Turkey and United Arab Emirates. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

Federal District Court Judge Lewis A Kaplan in Manhattan says he will accept guilty plea from terrorism defendant Adel Abdul Bary, who will face maximum 25-year prison sentence; charges stem from Al Qaeda's 1998 conspiracy to bomb two United States Embassies in East Africa. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Intelligence officials believe that Khorasan Group, Syrian jihadist cell that has emerged as a leading terrorist threat to United States, ultimately answers to Ayman al-Zawahri and Al Qaeda's core leadership in Pakistan; say its members began arriving in Syrian in 2012, and its size seems to fluctuate, but consists of approximately two dozen operatives. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Memo from Iraq; Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi adheres to Wahhabism, severe form of Islam quick to denounce others, even fellow militant groups like Al Qaeda. MORE

Sep. 11, 2014

Obama administration says it would welcome approval from Congress to expand military action against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but it does not need it to move forward because such action is covered by existing authorization to use military force against the perpetrators of Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks--that is, Al Qaeda. MORE

Sep. 5, 2014

Al Qaeda releases video announcing the establishment of a new branch on Indian subcontinent; some analysts see announcement as response to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, rival group that has been recruiting Indian Muslims. MORE

Aug. 27, 2014

Peter Theo Curtis, American writer and freelance journalist held captive for nearly two years by Al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, returns to the United States after the government of Qatar brokers his release MORE

July 8, 2015, Wednesday

Multimedia

The Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy released a selection of documents discovered during the 2011 raid in Abbottabbad, Pakistan, that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

In a letter dated Aug. 6, 2012, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and second in command of Al Qaeda, wrote to the leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb about the groups’ reliance on kidnapping ransoms to fund operations.

In a letter from 2012, the leaders of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb reprimanded Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a commander in the Sahara, for a range of offenses, including negotiating the release of two hostages for a “meager price” and without consultation.